Ask questions to clarify – Ask a question that pushes the student who posted the original content to explain something that confused the reader.
- Help me understand …
- Could you explain what you meant by ...
- What do you mean when you say ...
- I was a little confused by ...
Probing Questions - Ask questions to push author’s thinking or your own
- Question Starters
- Socratic Question Prompts
I Wonder Questions
- I learned ... That makes me wonder ...
Considering alternatives
- I wonder what would happen if you ...
- Have you thought about trying ...
- Did you think about ...
- You might find this resource interesting ...

Connect

Explain how your own experience or prior knowledge connect.
- I remember when ...
- That makes me think about ...
- I had trouble with ... I tried ...
- I was successful with ... when ...
Explain a connection you see between a topic in the writer's work and another topic.
- You might consider adding a connection to ...
Connect them to a resource you know of
- You might want to look at this resource ... It has ...

Extend

Add an example or reason
- You might consider adding ...
Clarify another student’s post by adding more information
Take another student’s post as a starting point and build on their idea (Hitchhike)
Discuss inferences/implications

Critique

(Polite suggestions)

Offer a way to reorganize ideas so they are more logical or create a better flow
- I wonder how it would change things if you tried this organization scheme (last section on page) ...
Add more information (or details, examples; counter-examples) needed to support the ideas
- You might want to add more information (or details, examples; counter-examples) needed to support the ideas.
- Could you offer a quote from the document/text/resource that supports ...
Politely challenge their arguments or conclusions - make sure to justify your own thinking
- After looking at the facts, I came to a different conclusion. I think ... because ...
- You stated ... I'm not sure that is an accurate assumption because ...
- Do you have a link to data or a resource to back up ...
Disagree and give reasons
- I disagree with ... because...
Provide a counter example
- Have you considered this counter example ...
Explain what facts are incorrect – Cite a source to verify your claim
- This resource seems to contradict what you are saying ...
- I believe it really is ...
Perspective – Respond from a different perspective and comment on how that perspective is similar or different
- I see it differently because …
- Have you considered the perspective of ...
  - Who might have a different perspective?
  - I wonder if ... might have a different perspective ...
  - Who might disagree with ...
- Have you thought about ... Have you considered ...
Uncover – Explain an assumption that the student who wrote the original post made and why that may not be an accurate assumption.

Positive Reinforcement

(This is a chance to reinforce concepts/skills from a lesson or an element from the rubric.)

Comment on what you liked about the work, citing specific examples:
- I liked ... because ...

Synthesize

Use ideas from multiple posts to create a new idea or to summarize
Write a summary/restatement to clarify; Provide an opinion (similar or different); Provide a perspective;

Meta Analyze

Make a meta-discussion statement, i.e., an observation regarding the content or characteristics of the discussion. (Blue Hat)

Commenting

Table of Contents

Online Discussions - Peer Feedback

Not necessary

Agree

Question

Connect

Extend

Critique

Positive Reinforcement

Synthesize

Meta Analyze

Related Links

Related Resources